New Semester
This one started full tilt, not with a slow month of introductory material. December was taken up with finals and applying for a Master's degree, and now I'm in the thick of paperwork for summer programs, scholarships and grants. Hopefully by March I will know whether I've been accepted to the M.A. in Arabic program, and then I'll have a clearer idea of what to do during the summer.
Christmas and New Year's were a truly blessed time. I did way too much baking, and tried to distribute most of it to friends and relatives.
I do feel like I am making progress, especially in French (the easier language), but at the same time studying is not so fresh anymore, so it's more of a chore than last semester. I know it is worth it though, and I still spend time online reading Arabic newspapers, etc. My new laptop is equipped with a couple of word processors that handle Arabic well; and I spent way too much time setting everything up on the new computer...
Chapitre 5 is all about food, so I have been eating more vegetables, lots of different cheeses (!) and the occasional croissant.
Fun books that I found on Ebay or Amazon lately: an introduction to the Arabic Ruq'a Script (the usual handwriting) b/c mine is really awkward; some fairy tales in Arabic and French; Le Petit Nicolas et Les Copains; Madeleine & Babar en français; La Bible de Jerusalem... I had searched for the Jerusalem Bible all over, and finally got hold of it at the Amazon.fr site.
There was a "Multicultural Career Fair" at U-M, and I went to take a look. About the only multicultural component was the CIA. They gave me a pin and a pen and told me they were always hiring people who could speak strange languages- some employees just read the news in other languages to find out what other people are saying about the U.S. If working for the government were attractive to me, they would also pay for my education. However, this is something I have to think about seriously. Do I want to work for Uncle Sam? No. Can I afford to pay for my education? No. ...
I am trying to learn to trust God more as each day unfolds as full of uncertainty as the one before.
Christmas and New Year's were a truly blessed time. I did way too much baking, and tried to distribute most of it to friends and relatives.
I do feel like I am making progress, especially in French (the easier language), but at the same time studying is not so fresh anymore, so it's more of a chore than last semester. I know it is worth it though, and I still spend time online reading Arabic newspapers, etc. My new laptop is equipped with a couple of word processors that handle Arabic well; and I spent way too much time setting everything up on the new computer...
Chapitre 5 is all about food, so I have been eating more vegetables, lots of different cheeses (!) and the occasional croissant.
Fun books that I found on Ebay or Amazon lately: an introduction to the Arabic Ruq'a Script (the usual handwriting) b/c mine is really awkward; some fairy tales in Arabic and French; Le Petit Nicolas et Les Copains; Madeleine & Babar en français; La Bible de Jerusalem... I had searched for the Jerusalem Bible all over, and finally got hold of it at the Amazon.fr site.
There was a "Multicultural Career Fair" at U-M, and I went to take a look. About the only multicultural component was the CIA. They gave me a pin and a pen and told me they were always hiring people who could speak strange languages- some employees just read the news in other languages to find out what other people are saying about the U.S. If working for the government were attractive to me, they would also pay for my education. However, this is something I have to think about seriously. Do I want to work for Uncle Sam? No. Can I afford to pay for my education? No. ...
I am trying to learn to trust God more as each day unfolds as full of uncertainty as the one before.
posted by Goldberry | 4:31 PM
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